LDC has invested in Merseyside artificial intelligence human resources platform, Horsefly.
The transaction means an exit for Mercia, which was part of the company’s original investment team in 2013.
Horsefly which is based in Merseyside, also has a presence in the United States. Working with brands including Coca Cola, Indeed, Manpower, Jaguar Land Rover and the Home Office, its SaaS platform gathers and aggregates real-time data on labour markets.
It uses this data to create insight into global talent sourcing, onboarding, diversity and inclusion, rewards and benefit benchmarking, and workforce development and planning.
“We are really proud of our growth in the last few years, and I’d like to thank Keith Jones, our co-founder and seed investor, and Mercia not only for funding our early years but also for appointing my most crucial mentor as Chair, Rod Hyde, who helped our brilliant team establish Horsefly as a leading talent analytics platform,” said Will Crandle, Founder and CEO of Horsefly.
LDC’s investment was led by Jacob Leone and Camilla Greenwood, who will both join the board alongside incoming Chair David Gilbertson.
“Horsefly’s market-leading platform provides its clients with actionable insight to help them shape their workforce in an ever-changing global economy. The drive, passion and ambition of Will and his team is infectious – we can’t wait to help them continue their growth,” added Jacob Leone, Investment Manager at LDC.
Will Clark of Mercia said:
“This deal marks the culmination of a ten-year partnership between Horsefly and Mercia. In recent years the business has been expanding rapidly and made significant inroads into the US market. Moving forward, LDC’s support will enable Will and the team to further strengthen its footprint in the US and take the business to the next level.”
